


Library Dates

by regencyaus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fluff, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, Valentine's Day Gift Exchange, and having friends, semi oblivious!draco, seriously this is me shipping draco with happiness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-05 05:58:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10299161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regencyaus/pseuds/regencyaus
Summary: A bunch of times Draco goes to the libraryfor the booksand a bunch of times Potter goes to the library for literally any other reason, dammit, did he mention the part where Potter can come and go without ever eventouchingabook?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bangyababy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bangyababy/gifts).



> This is a gift to the lovely bangyababy for dralentine's day 2017 (end notes for the prompts!)
> 
> Not beta read, all mistakes are my own (:

Exactly one week ago, Potter, out of fucking nowhere, kissed him. Perhaps you're not sufficiently shocked at this turn of events, so let's try again, just to be sure. _Potter_ kissed him. Potter _kissed_ him. Potter kissed _him_. It was, Merlin, it was the most ridiculous thing that has ever happened to Draco and let him tell you what, a lot of ridiculous things have happened to him. 

 

It all started when most of the students returned to Hogwarts to finish the school year they'd missed. Some Slytherins were there because it was the best chance they had in a world post war, Granger was there because she valued proper education, Draco was there because there's not many places he could _be_ right now, and the familiarity helped. 

He has no idea why Potter was there. It's not like he needed it anyway, Draco heard from Pansy that heard from Millicent Bulstrode that heard from Lavender Brown that he and the Weasley have auror jobs waiting for them as soon as they want them, no matter how they do at school. What a surprise. But they're there too, and that wasn't Draco's problem. 

He had enough on his mind. 

Like the fact that he had been wrong, and had made a lot of shit choices, and, in spite of everything, he was still here to tell the story. He had some reparations to make. 

Apologizing to Granger had happened on a whim. She was the person he most owned an apology to, if he let himself think about it, which he didn't on principle. But she still had the scar from what his aunt did to her, from a word he called her half a dozen times before. It catches his sight when he walks by her on the library. It's the Saturday after the first week of classes, there's not many people around, she's alone at her table. Before he considers it too much he stops next to her and waits to be noticed. 

"I'm sorry." He nods to her arm when she does. "For shit I said before. I know it doesn't- it doesn't-" Merlin, he's bad at this. Maybe Malfoys just weren't made to apologize. He takes a deep breath. "I know it doesn't justify, but I was young and I won't be doing it anymore." 

She blinks at him. Shit, what is he doing, she _hates_ him. She could humiliate him right now, what did he even expect? He starts to walk away and startles when she grabs his wrist. 

"Malfoy- it's okay. Well, it's not, but it's in the past now. I don't carry any resentment towards you." She lets go and smiles. Draco, against his better judgement, finds himself giving her a small smile back. "What are you reading?" She points to the book he had was turning in. 

He feels uncomfortable, he had never tried to be civil to anyone from the golden trio before. But she seems genuine, and he doesn't have anything to lose. "A potions book, the professor mentioned something in class and I was curious." 

"Really? Can I see it?" He gives her the book. _Potions for Magical Creatures_. Yeah, he knows. When she raises an eyebrow he squares his shoulders and explains. "For most injuries that result in dangerous levels of blood loss the standard procedure is to give the person a Blood-Replenishing Potion, but I didn't think it'd work for non-human animals. Slughorn didn't know about it," when does he ever, "...but it turns out I was right, or at least people with Veela ancestry should have another option ready." 

He raises his chin and waits for a joke. It doesn't come. 

"Wow, that's amazing. I never even thought about it. How about other creatures?" 

He blinks a few times, thrown off. "...depends, I suppose. The book is not comprehensive." 

"Tell me what you know." 

He does. 

And there begins his state of peace/something akin to friendship with Hermione Granger. He did mention ridiculous things happening before. 

 

So they sit together at the library sometimes and exchange book recommendations, or thoughts about classes and teachers. She's surprisingly funny and they have more things in common then he would have thought. 

Pansy and Blaise are doubtful when he mentions this to them. He doesn't blame them, to be honest. 

But it becomes sort of a thing and so it has happened before, Granger seeing him at the library, waving, and sitting at his table. It's still a complete and utter shock when she sees him at the library, waves, and sits at his table, followed by Potter and Weasley. 

"I need to help them with a transformations assignment from zero, can you believe it? Do you still have that book you checked out on Tuesday? It'd save us the trouble to look for it." 

"No, I returned it earlier today." And okay, he's shocked that Potter. And Weasley. Are sitting at his table. But there are priorities to his shock here. "You mean they didn't even start the transformations assignment? That's for _Monday_." 

She looks smugly back at them, in a ' _see_ ' kind of way. "You're giving them déjà vu. They heard the exact same thing before." 

Both Potter and Weasley look dejectedly away, like the only weird thing happening here is that they have the weekend to write twenty inches of parchment, and not that they're _sitting at Malfoy's table_. 

He sighs and stands up. "I remember where to find the book. Do you need anything else?" 

"Theories of Transubstantial Transfiguration could help too, if you see it." 

"I'll be right back." 

So there _is_ a perfectly rational explanation for how he (begrudgingly) ends up helping two Gryffindors with their homework. No one asks anyway. 

 

They take that as their cue to start doing the civil/verging on _friendly_ thing with him too. They'll nod at him if they cross each other on hallways, sit with him if they run into each other on the library and even strike up conversations if they're early for class and waiting by the door for the professor to arrive. 

Truthfully, none of this things happen all that often with Weasley, who avoids the library like the plague and only gets to classes on the very moment they begin and not a second before. But Potter seems to be pretty much everywhere Draco looks these days. 

One time Draco is in the library, probably waiting for Pansy to _handwrite_ 300 pages (seriously, she was getting one book. How long could it take?) when Potter dives beneath his table and sits on the floor. 

Draco spends some time testing his reality. That's still supposed to be weird, right? He's not actually crazy, right? 

"Am I crazy?" 

He hears a snort from under his desk. "Oh, like you're one to talk." He tells the table and takes the silence as a concession. "Let me try again. Am I hallucinating right now?" 

"...no?" 

He sighs and peaks under the table. "What are you doing Potter?" 

Potter hushes him and points at the door, where, oh, Draco can see some young people gathering and looking around. Second years, he supposes, third at the oldest, awestruck and after their hero, the mighty Potter.

Draco is in a corner, far from the entrance, but they're bound to notice it if he keeps glancing beneath his table. He sits back and processes this for a second. 

"Are you seriously hiding under a table from _twelve_ _year old's_?" 

Potter doesn't bother answering. 

"You faced dragons Potter. You defeated a dark lord." Nothing. "You survived the killing curse. _T_ _wice_." 

"You're sounding like them." His table says, laughing. "Are you a secret fan, Malfoy?" 

Draco gives him a small kick. Not like there's much room to maneuverer, since Potter is. Merlin. He's pretty close. Draco feels suddenly aware of his presence, of just how very close he is and how terrible this whole idea was in the first place. Potter moves away from the kicking leg, further into Draco's space and Draco's going to _kill_ the twelve year olds, _and_ Potter, and Pansy, and probably himself. The bastard, oblivious to Draco's turmoil, just laughs at his attempts of aggression. 

"I should sell you out." Draco tells his table. "How much do you think I'd get from the saviour's location?" He asks, with a threatening glare that is wasted on the table. Pansy looks at him as if he lost his mind. 

"Are you talking to our table?" 

"I'm talking to the person hiding beneath our table." 

"...should I even ask?" Draco answers anyway. 

"There's a person hiding beneath our table because _he's a moron._ " 

"Hey!" The table protests. Draco grins. 

"And because he's afraid to politely tell twelve year olds no." 

"...that's what he's hiding from? _Merlin_." Pansy glares at the table too. "What do you think they're going to do?" 

"Nothing. They're just- just-" Potter's getting flustered. Draco wishes he could see his face. "They're insistent, it's all. Handsy." 

Draco chokes on air. Pansy is laughing too, shaking her head at the table. 

"I'm sure no one going through puberty can keep their hands off of you, Potter. We're rooting for your integrity." He considers for a moment. "I bet you wanted a Potter Stinks pin right now, didn't you?" He feels, more than hears, Potter letting out a surprised breath and the little laugh that follows. Draco smiles and turns to Pansy. "Did you find the book?" 

She finally sits down, passing him the book and pulling her parchments out of her bag. They work for another ten minutes before she snaps her fingers beneath the table and tells Potter he's safe to go. Draco had noticed the fans leaving too but yeah. At some point Potter had actually rested an elbow on Draco's knee, accidentally at first and on purpose when Draco complained Potter could stay, just don't distract him, dammit, and every time Potter let out a deep breath Draco'd feel it, and point being, Draco didn't really mind him there. 

But Potter thanks them, and smiles at him before leaving, and for some reason Draco still counts it as a win. 

 

Potter keeps showing up. Sometimes he seems a little embarrassed or unsure. Sometimes he seems absolutely confident, the stupid Gryffindor bravery making itself know. Except he doesn't _do_ anything, there's nothing to be brave _about_ , he just shows up at the library for the 12th time that week, walks up to Draco, and chats the whole afternoon, until they're both starving for dinner and out of time. 

And he doesn't even say anything important either. He started with the most trivial things, like school work and the damn weather. Once they realized they could, actually, talk for more then five minutes without biting each other's heads off, they expanded their topics, which now include quidditch, schoolmates, how they were arses to each other when they were young (it seems a lot funnier when they're remembering it), and what they want to do after Hogwarts. 

That's their topic for today and Draco learns that Potter didn't hurry to the auror job because he's not sure if that's what he wants anymore, and neither is Weasley, though for different reasons. Weasley, Potter tells him, would probably be happier helping George with the store, he's just scared to make the decision. 

"What about you?" Draco asks, saving his page on Great Expectations, because apparently that's the kind of thing he's allowed to ask these days, it's the kind Potter will probably answer. There's still a fear deep in Draco that this is all a horrible and complicated joke, that Potter will laugh at him for daring to presume he could ask something about his life, but Draco barely thinks about it these days. He mostly does what feels right, and tries to move on from the past and his insecurities.

It's a new strategy. It worked with Granger, he supposes. 

"Me what?" 

"What about you, what do you think you would be happier doing?" 

"Oh. I guess I haven't really thought about that. There's just, there were a lot of things I was sure I would be doing, after the war. And then the war was over and they didn't feel so right anymore, you know?" 

Yeah, Draco knows. 

"Some things that I had never considered before and now I think about them all the time." Potter breathes out the last part and looks away, like he just shared some huge secret and not the fact that he, as a regular 18 year old kid, doesn't have every moment of his life figured out yet. 

"Well, not like you need anyone to stroke your ego, but I'm sure it will be fine. Like, any job you choose or whatever. You'll figure it out." 

Potter looks at him with a private little smile and Draco's stupid heart skips a beat. 

 

Another day Draco is in the library immersed in a horribly cheesy romance when Potter shows up right next to him, making Draco jump and lose at least five years of his lifespan. 

"Ahhhhh! Potter what the hell?" Potter came with Hermione this time, who's laughing at him from her sit across the table. Traitor. 

Some students hush him, like that was actually _his_ fault. Hermione just laughs harder, and Potter grins. 

"Is that French?" He asks, taking things from his bag and making himself at home. Just to be annoying, Draco pushes his things away, making a clear line. 

"That's my side of the table, stick to your side." 

Potter is gobsmacked. "You're not even using the table, Malfoy, you're just reading a book! On your hands!" There's another 'hush' but Potter doesn't notice. 

"It doesn't matter Potter, it's the _principle_ of the thing." 

"You're an arsehole." And then he scatters his things everywhere again, just to prove a point. Draco glares, but doesn't stop him this time. Hermione is smiling softly at them. 

"So, French." 

"Well, yes. Did you recognize that by yourself? What a smart boy." Draco didn't even remember the book was in French. He thanks his lucky stars that Potter doesn't understand enough to know how irrevocably romantic Draco's book is, he'd never live it down. From Granger's glance at it, and the smirk she gives him next, his lucky stars didn’t make him _that_ lucky. 

"Stop being difficult. When did you learn French?" 

Draco shrugs. "My mother taught me when I was younger. I don't practice conversation that much these days, not enough anyway, but reading still feels pretty natural to me." 

Potter's grin is expected. "What a smart boy." Granger hides her laughter behind a book this time. 

"You could benefit from learning a language or two, you know. It's a good exercise." 

"I know parseltongue." Potter points out. 

"That absolutely doesn't count." 

"Why not?" 

"Well, for starters, I meant something you actually had to learn. Put real effort into it and develop a real ability." 

"It is a real ability. Pretty useful too." 

"Of course. All the snakes we run into in daily life, how could you possibly communicate with them if you didn't speak their language?" 

Potter ignores him. "I'm also really good at it." 

"That- I'll honestly never know that. There's no one to prove it right or wrong." 

"I can show you anyway." And when Draco doesn't stop him, he does. 

It's exotic, and powerful, and just the tiny bit of scary. Draco feels a confused sort of arousal settling in, like his poor body can't understand _what_ is attractive about this, but can't help being turned on anyway, and _frustrated_. But it's not the words, it's the fantasy, like everything Potter's saying right now could be complete _filth_ and Draco wouldn't even _know_ - 

"Okay, you speak another language. You're clearly a genius and it was unfair of me to presume otherwise. Now let me get back to my book." 

Hours later he hasn't gotten over the delicious sound of Potter's laughter.  

 

A few weeks later he and Potter called it a day and are going to get dinner, like usual. Draco decides that he's caring too much weight and that he will leave his things in his room before going to the great hall, and Harry nods, a little disappointed, and says "See you later." 

That's when Draco notices that Potter doesn't have anything with him. Not his school bag, not a single book. Potter didn't touch a single book the whole afternoon and that's-- that's ridiculous, Potter is ridiculous, why does he keep coming back to damn _library_ , if he doesn't even care about the _books_. 

"Potter, you're ridiculous." Potter turns back to him with a little frown. 

 _He likes talking to Draco._  

Draco had noticed it before but the realization right now hits him like a freight train. Maybe Potter needs someone that doesn't give a shit about his hero status, someone that will talk back, or maybe he could just use another friend, but still, the whole thing is stupid, why does he keep coming back to the _library_ then. 

"...you want to see me." It's that simple, shit, Draco should have noticed before. "Merlin, Potter, if you want to see me you can, you don't have to keep coming back to the damn library when you don't even care about the books." So, Draco is more than a little offended in the name of the books, but whatever, Potter didn't have to snub them so cruelly. Who does he think he is? 

Harry freezes, staring wide eyed at him. "You're not- you're not mad?" He blinks a few times, licking his lips. That's distracting, Draco is trying to prove a point here, dammit. 

He clears his throat. "What, no, why would I be?" 

Harry shrugs. "I thought you might hate me if you realized what I was doing." 

Draco thinks about this. "Well, I'm a little offended. In the name of the books. You didn't have to treat them like that." Harry gives him an easy smile. "But I don't care if you wanna see me somewhere else, I mean." 

Harry is looking at him, bright eyed and fascinated. "You really don't mind?" 

Harry licks his lips, again, because he's that much of an arsehole. Draco's eyes lower to them, more out of their own accord then anything, mind you, and he shakes his head, distracted. So Harry looks around the corridor, which is empty right now, and then comes closer and, you guessed it, kisses Draco. On the mouth, in case he wasn't clear. 

Harry's lips move with the slightest hint of pressure against his, until Draco gives a little groan that he'll deny to his dying day and opens his mouth, just enough to give Harry better access. Harry's hand angles Draco's head back, and he nips and sucks lightly on Draco's bottom lip, and Draco has a second to enjoy it, his own hands getting tangled on the mess that is Harry's hair, before Harry steps away and Draco's hands leave him. A group of third years rounds the corner and walk past them, and Draco didn't even hear them but Harry must have, because they don't see anything they shouldn't. And then Harry gives him another smile, nods at nothing in particular, and goes to the great hall. 

 

Draco drives himself insane over the next few days. When he's not thinking why, why, why, why, why, he's thinking what he should do now and he has no idea. 

Draco might be Harry's secret? He's not actually sure but that means he won't just walk up to Harry anywhere _public_. But he doesn't have many options. He told Harry to stop going to the library to see him, so _he_ doesn't go to the library, afraid he'd be sending the wrong message, afraid if Harry walked by and saw him there he'd think Draco doesn't want to see him when Draco does. Very much. So he kind of stays a lot in his room? Which, obviously is a lot worse, and he thinks Harry is laughing at him right now if he knows. That, if Harry is even planning on seeing him again, and the whole thing wasn't just a lapse in his judgment and he is now avoiding Draco on purpose so things don't get awkward. 

So exactly one week later Draco took his broom for a ride, just to get his mind off of things, and is coming back to the Slytherin dormitories when Harry scares the shit out of him by being there, on a corridor Draco was about to walk through, leaning against a wall and waiting for him like he _knew_ where Draco would _be_ , Merlin. 

"Hey." He waits for Draco to approach and smiles at him. "I wanted to know- well, I wanted to ask you, that is- if you wanna go to a festival with me? A muggle festival, I mean." He sounds so happy and hopeful that Draco wants to laugh. And kiss him stupid, but dammit, he started it. Not Draco's fault. 

"A muggle festival?" 

"Yeah. You said no to the library if I was disrespecting the books, so." He shrugs. "I talked to Headmaster McGonagall, she said we're all overage, we can go somewhere other than Hogsmade on the weekends, if we want, as long as we come back on time. I thought you may not feel comfortable in Hogsmade because we'd have zero privacy, but then Hermione pointed out that you may not feel comfortable anywhere in the wizarding community, actually, because we would be recognized and it might not be the kind of attention you want. So I did a little research and there will be a cool muggle festival kind of near here this weekend, with live music, and food, and even those photo booths-" He pauses. "You have no idea what a photo booth is, don't you? It's this muggle thing you get inside of and make poses, and when you leave, it prints out a strip of muggle pictures." 

But Draco isn't paying attention, he's just dumbstruck. "You told Granger about me?" 

Harry falters. 

"Well, yeah. She's one of my two best friends, Draco. Of course I'd tell them." 

But Harry doesn't get it, Draco isn't mad, he's just- he thought he might be a dirty secret and he could even be okay with that, but instead Harry was asking help to his _best friends_ on how to plan a date with _Draco_. He doesn't think he can breathe for a second. 

"The photo booth thing sounds dangerous." 

"Oh god, you just sit there and make faces. How is that dangerous?" 

"Don't know. But I don't trust it." 

"You'll like it if you see it." 

"When I see it." Harry gives him a cautious smile. 

"Yeah. This weekend?" He bites his lip and that- that's ridiculous, ridiculous things _keep happening_ on Draco's life, but Draco is starting to think he might be okay with that, after all. 

"Sure, this weekend." And he kisses Harry just because he can.

  


**_fin_ **

**Author's Note:**

> The prompts for the stories were Parseltongue and Photo Booth. They could be mentioned or actually feature, so *shrugs*
> 
> Talk to me on tumblr, @ alwaysalovestory !


End file.
